


Together We Are Stronger (And More Badass)

by Vanguard



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, I Blame Tumblr, Lena Superhero AU, Lena is the only thing Marvel-y, Not a Marvel Crossover Though, Slow Burn, Spider-Woman AU, cuz why not, isn't she always though? ;), superhero au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-15
Updated: 2017-07-01
Packaged: 2018-11-14 09:19:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11205012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vanguard/pseuds/Vanguard
Summary: Admittedly, this is not what Lena had in mind when she had said she wanted to make a difference for the people. When she said she wanted to make a difference, she meant pioneering new technology that would be able to save millions- billions- by being able to cure cancer, feed those that were starving, give people safe places to live...She definitely did not mean to be able to climb walls.Not that she was complaining necessarily.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I saw this idea on Tumblr from the user aeducaanwrites and I decided to take a stab at it. Yes, I'm aware I probably dragged out the beginning far longer than I really needed to, but I decided I wanted to make the tone light and humorous, especially since Spidey is known for his quick wit, which I tried as best I could to give to Lena while in her suit. Besides, I needed to give the spider experiments an intro anyways so back off. The title is just kind of a work in progress at the moment so if you have anything better to offer me, I will gladly take it into consideration.
> 
> As per usual with my works, I haven't proofread them so I apologize if this is really awful to read, but it is two in the morning so give me a break. Hope you guys enjoy!

Admittedly, this is not what Lena had in mind when she had said she wanted to make a difference for the people. When she said she wanted to make a difference, she meant pioneering new technology that would be able to save millions- _billions_ \- by being able to cure cancer, feed those that were starving, give people safe places to live...

She definitely did _not_ mean to be able to climb walls.

Not that she was _complaining_  necessarily.

Okay, so let’s back it up here.

When she was ten and touring with Lionel at Luthor Corp, she looked into one of the rooms she passed and saw that it had spiders everywhere (talk about nightmare fuel). She shuddered and clutched her father’s hand and asked why they would ever have that room.

“We need it,” he explained,” because they produce incredibly strong silk, and we’ve changed them a little bit so that they produce a lot more a lot faster. That way, we can make things like clothes and blankets for people in places that don’t have them. Don’t worry, we also made them so that they’re completely harmless.

“However,” he continued, “we _do_ have some other spiders that we are still testing to try and make their venom useful, but so far, nothing has occurred. I won’t be showing you that room.”

They continued their tour around the building until Lionel got called away for some business, and he left her alone with his assistant. Luckily, the girl he hired was a complete numbskull and she was able to get away pretty easily.

Not-so-luckily, she had wandered into a part of the building that she had never seen. Her footsteps echoed in the halls, everything seemingly abandoned. Then she felt a sharp pain in her hand. She yelped and looked down to see a spider resting on her hand, staring up at her. She screeched and shook it off hurriedly and hoped to all that she knew that that was one of the silk spiders, but the sinking feeling in her stomach told her that she knew it was one of the spiders meant for harvesting venom.

Before she could dwell on it, a door opened and her father poked his head out. “Lena? What in the world are you doing here?” he asked sternly.

“Y-Your assistant told me where you were. I was getting worried,” Lena lied easily, trying not to cringe.

Lionel sighed, his face softening as he held out his hand for her. “Well, they can handle themselves without me. Out spider test was unsuccessful anyways. We can discuss what we’re going to do with them tomorrow. Let’s go get something to eat.”

After that day, everything was surprisingly normal for Lena. Business went about as usual. After some digging into some files, it turns out the spider that bit her actually was one of the silk spiders.

Apparently, her sinking stomach was just her being incredibly paranoid. And hungry.

After Lionel died of a rare illness he had contracted while out of the country, she wondered what the spider program would have been able to do for him had he continued with the project. If it would have been able to save him.

And that was how she ended up scouring through Luthor Corp's basement. There were perhaps hundreds of tossed projects or prototypes sitting around just waiting to be dug up once more. Hidden in a far corner of the room was a wooden case of a few remaining vials of venom. Throughout the years, scientists had realized that some of the test trials had yielded previously unknown crucial discoveries and had unearthed them to mass produce them. It seemed as though they needed to take one just earlier that week, if not that day because there was a broken vial with venom still dripping from it slowly.

Disregarding every safety procedure her father had ever told her about dealing with unknown substances, she reached forward to touch the liquid, hissing as she cut her skin on the broken glass. A burning pain shot through her hand as she realized the venom had gotten into her blood stream.

She panicked, realizing that there was a good chance that she could die right there because of her own idiocy. She had to get home. Make amends with her brother and mother before she met her end...

And then almost three days passed and she realized that death was probably not at her doorstep.

What she _did_ realize however was that she felt... different.

It took another handful of years for her to realize what had happened to her. After she moved to National City, she quickly realized that adrenaline and near-death experiences were going to become part of the routine for her. After almost getting killed and the whole ordeal that she went through with that, she woke up the next morning and nearly ripped her door off of its hinges. Her eyes couldn't seem to focus on anything, and every little noise that she heard made her flinch. And the doorknob was stuck to her hand, so there was that, too.

Making her way carefully to her computer, she pulled up old files and realized that the spider venom had enhanced her natural reflexes, agility, strength, speed, and... made her stick to things. Apparently, the extreme stress and adrenaline that she had been under had caused the venom to react and make itself known to her body.

And so, she took the entire day off to go into her personal gym and try out her new powers, testing the limits of her strength and speed, while also trying to control them so that she didn't, ya know, break her keyboard trying to type an email.

By the next day, she was practically normal again. Except for the fact that her senses were dialed to eleven and Jess was starting to get sweaty with how often she had to run back and forth to send out the paperwork Lena was completing. By lunch, a majority of her paperwork had been filled out already and she sighed and rubbed her temples as she reminded herself that she needed to pace her work.

A week later, Lena was back to a normal routine. Mostly. She woke up earlier to hone her senses and push her strength. And she still got done with her work faster, but she decided to give most of it to Jess at once so that she had time to catch a breath.

Meanwhile, she worked alone in the old lab downstairs where the venom project was once housed to create a suit for herself, should she ever choose to go out and fight crime. A mask that would cover her face and disguise her voice and a lightweight suit that was durable, bulletproof and could stretch to accommodate her movements. And to top it off, web string to be able to swing herself around and disarm criminals. (It took a long time in order to get the formula correct; let's just say that there were many nights of scrubbing webbing out of her hair for hours).

It took her a few months for her to work up the courage to put it on and actually go out and fight in it.

But _damn_ , did it feel good to be able to go out there and make a difference. Defeating thieves and muggers easily, before they can even get the chance to raise their guns.

Though she will admit, it was a little annoying that no one really seemed to take the criminals seriously when they said that a woman with that could crawl on walls and shoot webs from her wrists apprehended them. There was a woman who was bulletproof, super strong and fast, could fly, had laser and x-ray vision, super hearing, and freeze breath and they can't believe a woman can climb walls and shoot webbing?

That changed on the night she heard a woman's scream from the rooftop and swung over to see a man had forced her into a corner and was waving demeaning threats into her face, brandishing a knife. Lena's blood boiled and before she even began to assess the situation, she leaped into the alleyway.

"Y'know, you would think that living in a city with so many crime fighters would teach men to leave women alone at night," Lena snarked. The man turned around, started and brandished his knife at her.

"C'mon, Spider Bitch. Let's see what you can do then," he growled.

Lena sighed and rolled her eyes beneath the mask. She leaned to the side to look at the woman. "This is the part where you make your getaway while I beat this guy up."

The woman nodded and ran away while the man spat curses at her. "Why do you freak shows always get in the way?"

"Why do you asshats always think that a knife is going to scare us?"

He snarled and threw the knife aside and pulled out a pistol. "Scared now?"

Lena faked a gasp of fear. "Oh no! Please, no. Anything but a gun! It's so scary. So much fear is running through me right now!" She doubled over and clutched her chest and she heard him snicker in amusement. And then she shot a web onto his hand so that he was now attached to the wall.

"What the hell is this shit?" he cried, trying to tug his arm off of this wall.

She shrugged. "I could tell you, but I'm pretty sure your brain wouldn't understand it anyway." She tilted her head as she heard police sirens in the distance begin to get closer. "Besides, the cops will be bringing you in soon, so I'm just going to head on out. It was a dishonor meeting you. Really, I mean it, you're an asshole. Okay, you have fun!"

Lena laughed as she heard him screaming expletives at her as she climbed up the side of the building and ran from rooftop to rooftop until she found a good view and set on the ledge. She was simply enjoying her night while listening out for anything when a soft thud of footsteps behind her made her jolt up and turn around, her wrist outstretched.

It was then that she realized that she was facing Supergirl.

The Kryptonian spoke first. "Who the hell are you?" she questioned.

Lena chuckled and lowered her arm. "A friend," she replied simply.

Supergirl glared. "How am I supposed to know that your intentions now will stay your intentions while you're here?"

Lena rolled her eyes, though it's not like the super could see them. "Look, you're just going to have to trust me. I'm here to do some good fighting crime and take a little bit off of your shoulders. I believe that you should be saying thank you, but I'll accept your skepticism."

Supergirl sighed in annoyance and stepped closer. "I can't see under your mask because of lead, so obviously you don't want me to know who you are. Why?"

She hesitated. "Look, we're allies alright? You're just going to have to trust me. I recently came into these powers and I want to do something productive with them. I have a day job where I do the same thing: try to make the world a better place. But while I try to make advancements during the day to change the world, there are things that I can do that will make a difference here, now. You can understand that, can't you?"

Understanding shone in Supergirl's eyes and she sighed. "Alright, fine. You can stick around. But the second I think you're up to something-"

"You can kick me to the curb," Lena finished, her voice laced with excitement. "Wanna go out and find some more criminals to beat up?"

Supergirl finally cracked a smile. "I actually have a job to get to in the morning, so I've gotta go. Besides, it's almost two in the morning. You should head to sleep. I’m pretty sure Guardian has next watch."

Lena smiled and offered her hand to shake. "Honor to meet you."

Supergirl met her handshake and nodded to her. "Until we meet again," she responded simply as she flew off.

Lena paused before jumping from the roof. "Wait, so Supergirl has a normal day job?" she called, knowing she could hear her. And if she listened closely, she could swear she heard a laugh respond to her in the distance.

 

* * *

 

 

The next morning, it was hard for Lena to keep from grinning like a madman at the fact that she had made an alliance with the Supergirl. Sure, she knew the hero through Kara and everything, but it was different to be able to talk to her as an equal: as a hero.

Her joy was wiped off of her face as she saw her a news report of her mother's trial. She hadn't realized how long she had been watching them until Kara walked into her office holding a bag.

"Everyone in National City has an opinion on me," she began. "Ungrateful daughter, heroine, bitch. Ugh, everyone has been calling for a quote." She looked up in a slight panic as she remembered that her best (only, she reminded herself bitterly) friend was a reporter working for a cutthroat boss. "But not you, right? Snapper Carr hasn't sent you here to shake me down?"

Kara shook her head. "No, no, I'm here as a friend," she reassured quickly. "I thought you could use some fried, sugary goodness in your life. You eat donuts, right?"

Lena smiled and faked consideration, trying to keep it from showing how much this small act of kindness really meant to her. "Well, I am human," she conceded and led them to her couch. "Thank you, Kara."

They talked about Lillian and the trial for a while before Kara read it on her face that it was a topic she would've preferred closed for the time being.

"So, have you heard about some new hero on the block, Spider-Woman?" Kara asked. "She's been stopping a lot of petty crime at night."

Lena struggled to keep a grin off of her face. "Yeah, I have, actually. What do you think about her?"

Kara shrugged. "I don't know. Supergirl has told me that she wears a mask lined with lead so that she can't see underneath, and she only comes out at night. I don't know, it's just a little fishy to me. We know virtually nothing about her or her motives, and that makes her dangerous."

Lena frowned. "But she's making a difference, isn't she? Just give her time, maybe Supergirl and her team need to just give her a chance to prove herself."

She kinda wishes she hadn't said anything. A few hours later, she's surrounded by five guys wielding guns and knives.

"Georgie told us you're the one that got him sent to the slammer," one guy snapped. "We decided we should pay you a visit and teach you a lesson in manners."

"Georgie... Georgie... Oh! You mean that ugly asshole I put away the other night! Yeah, he was kind of a dick. Apparently, what he lacks in good decision making, he also seems to lack in picking his company. By the way, who even talks like that?" Lena remarked. "I mean, seriously. You sound like some stereotypical crime boss in an old movie."

The back of her neck started tingling and she dodged out of the way as one of the goons ran at her with his knife, tripping over her outstretched leg and barrelling into the guy across from him. He cried out in pain as the guy he ran into accidentally shot him on impact.

Lena winced and the ringleader facepalmed at the display of stupidity. "Well, at least he chose dumber company so he would seem smarter by comparison," she mused aloud, dodging a bullet and shooting a string onto his hand and sending him into a wall. One of the two remaining goons charged her with a knife and she dodged it easily, grabbing a hold of his arm and sending him onto the leader of the group. "Though, at least you guys are smart enough to come at me in a group and not just one at a time, in all fairness."

Before she could react, she felt a shooting pain in her arm and looked down to see the guy that the first idiot had run over aiming his gun at her with a wicked smile. "Bitch," he said proudly.

She rolled her eyes. "Give me a break," she muttered, webbing his hand to his face as she heard sirens heading closer. Shooting a string up to the ledge of the building, she let it slowly bring her as she tried to keep her arm as steady as possible.

Once out of sight of any cops, she looked down at her arm. Her suit had absorbed the impact (it was basically a body-sized bulletproof vest, really), but it still hurt like a bitch, and it was probably going to leave a nasty bruise. "Well, at least I've tested that it is bulletproof," she conceded as slowly moved her arm to try to get used to the pain.

"Not bad for someone who just got shot," a voice remarked. She looked up to see the Girl of Steel slowly floating down towards her.

"Not everyone can have bulletproof skin," Lena replied sarcastically.

Supergirl chuckled. "Look, you've got skills. They're raw and unrefined, but they're there," she began. "A friend told me earlier today to give you the chance to prove yourself, and I believe you just did. The people I work with have been talking about you and they think that you could be a great addition to the team."

"I'm not looking for a new job, the one I have now pays just fine. Thanks for the offer, though," Lena remarked, standing with a groan. She decided not to dwell on the fact that Supergirl, the woman that she had been pretty certain since day one was none other than Kara Danvers, just made reference to the conversation in her office earlier. Or the fact that Kara also made reference to a “conversation” with Supergirl just a few hours prior. (It was painfully obvious the second Kara said she flew to the office on a bus, but she decided to ignore it because if she pretended they were two different people, she had two friends and not one).

 _That is incredibly pathetic_ , Lena thought to herself.

"We wouldn't need you all the time. We would just give you a way that we could remain in contact with you so that, if something should arise, we can ask you to help."

Lena mulled over the thought. "Look, I'm happy to help, but I don't want to have to give up my identity or my choices to some government agency or something. Give me a burner phone or something to call me on and I'll do that, but I won't answer to you."

Super- _Kara_ sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. "I doubt they'll like that, but they also don't have many other choices right now. With Lillian Luthor's trial, everyone is kind of on edge to make sure she doesn't try anything." She looked back at Lena and squinted, undoubtedly trying to see beneath the lead mask to no avail. "I'll talk to them and see if they'd just be willing to work with you on the side-"

"Okay, now you're just making it sound like I'm the mistress," Lena interjected.

"But I can't make any promises," Kara finished with a glare. "I'll find you tomorrow and let you know their decision."

Before she could get another word out, she flew off. "It's a date!" she called playfully. "I'll bring something to eat!"

Lena looked out over the city before grinning under her mask, running from roof to roof as she let out a shout of joy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter obviously does not correlate at all to what actually happened in the show, but I like to think my way is better. I mean, I think most of us could agree that Lena would be smart enough to have thought of something like that. Not much action yet, really. I'm mostly still setting up Lena as a hero and her budding relationship with Kara and how she'll need to balance the two identities. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter; since it's not two in the morning this time, the results may be of higher quality. And as per usual, this was not proofread. 
> 
> Alright, I'll stop typing now. Hope you like the new chapter!

Okay, so her mother had been freed from captivity by a maniacal cyborg that has tried to kill both herself and Supergirl on multiple occasions and just went trigger-happy (Kryptonite gem-happy?) in a courtroom. And Supergirl wasn't able to stop them.

Great. 

So now her mother was loose with a cyborg assassin and there was probably some grand scheme in order to drag her into this mess.

Great.

When Kara walked into her office later that night with a certain dullness on her face, it felt like her fate had been sealed. As she was explaining how the situation may look, police abruptly entered her office, showing her a video of herself grabbing Kryptonite from her cabinet.

She could barely get a word out before the police officer- Kara called her Maggie- put her in handcuffs. Everything was buzzing in her ears, and all she could really tell was that her friend was arguing for her innocence and demanding Maggie release her and just hear what she had to say. 

"Now, hold on just a second," Lena interjected into the chaos. "I have a way to prove my innocence."

Kara gave Maggie a pointed look and the police officer let out a heavily annoyed sigh. "Yes, Ms. Luthor?"

Lena turned and arched an eyebrow at her before nodding to the cuffs. She was released with a clenched jaw and it took all of her willpower not to laugh at the pure annoyance on the officer's face. "The video system malfunctioned a few months ago and we lost footage of a theft that had occurred. We caught him, luckily, but since then, I decided to have back-ups made of all surveillance footage should something happen where the system failed or was tampered with," Lena explained. "I can ask someone to bring you a hard copy of the footage to bring with you."

"You think someone tampered with a video to incriminate you?" Maggie questioned. "Why would someone bother going through the trouble?"

"You're talking to the woman whose mother runs a terrorist group against aliens and has remade men entirely of metal and Kryptonite in order to kill Supergirl. Is it really  _that_ far-fetched that she is trying to frame me for whatever diabolical reasons she has?" Lena provided. "Not to mention, I _spoke_ _against my mother at her trial._ Why would I make up any of that in such a public setting with such high stakes if I was just planning on freeing her?"

Maggie looked over at Kara who was grinning widely at Lena's rebuttal and rubbed the back of her neck bashfully. "I mean... when you put it that way... it all makes a lot of sense actually. But you're still our prime sus-"

"Sawyer!" one of the other officers called. "We just had some of ours and Alex's people check the footage Ms. Luthor gave us. It's clean. She didn't have any Kryptonite."

The CEO let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding and looked over at Maggie, who looked like she was kicking herself internally. "Thank you for your time, Ms. Luthor. Sorry about this, if there's anything we can do-"

Lena shook her head. "It's fine, really. You were just doing your job. It's not your fault mother is as twisted as she is. Besides, if I didn't have back-ups, there would be nothing stopping me from going to jail right now," she conceded. "As long as you get mother back, that's all I ask."

The officer looked grateful at the CEO for not chewing her out or threatening to go to her superiors and nodded, getting out of there before Lena could change her mind.

As the police cleared out of the office, Lena sagged against her desk and let out a sigh of disbelief. "Why is it so easy for me to believe that my mother would frame her own daughter?"

Kara gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, Lena. You don't deserve any of this."

She shrugged and chuckled bitterly. "Yeah, well, I've never really understood normalcy." She looked up at Kara. "Thank you. For trying to tell her that I was innocent, even if you didn't have any proof."

Kara smiled at her and nudged her shoulder. "I knew you would never do something like that. Even if everyone sees you as a Luthor, I see you as Lena."

Her heart jumped up into her throat as she looked at the girl that had done nothing but trust her ever since she had gotten to National City. "Th-thanks, Kara," she stumbled, looking down at her shoes as she tried not to let it show how deeply it meant to her that she trusted her. She glanced at the clock and realized that they would both be late for their night meeting if they didn't speed this up. "I would love for you to stay, but I'm pretty exhausted and I'm sure you want to get home."

It was clear Kara was about to protest until she took a glance at the clock and sighed. "Are you sure you're okay? I'll stay with you tonight if you need me to. Besides, I don't feel safe with you being out and about with your mother and Metallo still trying to get you."

Lena rubbed Kara's shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry, Kara. I can handle myself. I'll be fine."

They said their goodbyes and she waited until she heard Jess say goodbye to Kara before grabbing her suit from where she had stowed it in her back amongst the whole ordeal at the courthouse. 

 _I really need to find a more convenient way to carry this around,_ she mused as she proceeded to put it on.

"Jess! You're free to go home for the night!"

"Are you sure, Ms. Luthor?" her secretary called back. 

"I just have some paperwork to finish up. I can handle it. Enjoy your night, Jess!"

Before any response could even be uttered, she jumped from her balcony.

* * *

 

Lena was perched atop a light when she heard someone calling out.

"Spider-Woman?" It was the same police officer from her office earlier... Maggie. "I need to talk to you. I was just wondering if you'd be willing to talk and give me some information, and in return, I'll owe you one."

She slowly lowered herself upside down from the light on the web as the officer passed by without looking up. 

"Y'know, Officer Sawyer, I'm sure there are easier ways to get in touch with someone that walking through abandoned alleyways," Lena said casually. "Even if you are a cop, it's probably not the safest idea. Oh, and this better be quick. I need to go get some food."

The officer spun around and raised her gun before relaxing at seeing the figure. "Holy shit, you cannot do that to a girl." She approached hesitantly. "Do you mind being right side up for this conversation?"

Lena sighed and spun herself so that her feet touched the ground. "You ruin all of my fun."

"Look, I just need information on Lillian Luthor."

Lena arched an eyebrow... not that it really mattered.  _Maybe I should make some facial movements on this thing..._

"What makes you think that I would know anything about Lillian Luthor?" she questioned, not angry but genuinely curious.

Maggie pulled a notebook out of her coat pocket. "Well, you're out on the streets a lot at night. We were thinking that maybe you saw or heard something that might clue us in as to where she could be going. If you haven't, I'll just be on my way."

Lena paced back and forth slowly. "I haven't heard anything out here really... but I know Lex Luthor had vaults where he stored his...  _projects._ I can do some digging for you and see if there's anything I can find about where one is," she offered. "In the meantime, Metallo has Kryptonite back in his chest, which means that you can probably track him based on the radioactive signature he emits. You can use that to try and help you narrow down where they might be."

Maggie considered her. "So, you have nothing to do with the Luthor family? And your spider powers have nothing to do with the spider experiments they held back when Lionel Luthor was still around?"

She stiffened before letting out a nervous laugh. "Not technically, no. Look, I'm telling you the truth. I don't know exactly where any of Lex's vaults are located. If I did, I would be halfway there now to try and stop whatever Lillian Luthor is trying to do. Now, if you'll excuse me, Sawyer, I have a hot date."

The officer chuckled. "You're going dressed like that?"

She let out a mock-cry of anguish. "Oh, dear me! Is my shirt wrinkled? Is there a stain?" she chuckled. "This is the best suit I have as of right now, Sawyer. I know you're actually just jealous, but I'm going to need you to keep that jealousy in that cute little head of yours. I don't want any of your negativity to rub off on me when I see the Girl of Steel tonight."

"She's a tough girl to please, Spidey! Play nice!"

Lena looked down from her perch. "Have you not talked to any of the criminals that I've put away?" she called down in mock offense. "I am the epitome of kindness."

She was met with a laugh. "Good luck, Spidey!"

* * *

 

Lena lounged on the rooftop from the night before with bags of Chinese takeout.

"You should really learn punctuality," she called out as she a faint whoosh behind her that undoubtedly belonged to Supergirl. "Last time I checked, we were supposed to meet here, oh, twenty minutes ago." She looked over her shoulder at the hero. "Your food is getting cold."

The Kryptonian gave her a strange look as she sat down next to her. "When you said this was a date, I-I didn't think that you were serious," she said with a nervous laugh.

"Well, what can I say?" She gave her what she hoped came across as a pointed look. "I'm quite the charmer. Besides, what kind of date would I be if I asked you to pay for dinner?"

Kara smiled begrudgingly and sat down next to her. "Do you plan on eating with that mask on?"

"I actually got all of this for you. I know you need to eat a lot of food because of how fast your metabolism is, so I decided to spare no expenses on our first date. And I already ate, pre-mask, of course."

Supergirl coughed and looked over with wide eyes. "F-First?"

"I only mean it as a figure of speech and joke. Unless you want it to be true."

Kara's face only continued to redden as she stumbled through her sentence. "L-Look, I just wanted to meet up with you again to tell you that the agency I work for has agreed, albeit begrudgingly, for me to give you this burner phone to contact you with. They can't access your location on it and its only purpose is to message you. If we need to call, we won't be able to recognize your voice. Here."

Lena grabbed the phone from the hero's outstretched hand and observed it before tossing it aside. "Nice business talk, Supes. But I really would prefer to talk to you as a person rather than an agent. For example, how do you balance life as Kara Danvers and Supergirl?"

Before she could blink, Lena was on her back with Kara above her glaring down at her with so much fury and fear, she was surprised heat vision wasn't involved. "How do you know who I am?"

"A girl doesn't normally end up on top of me on the first date. Well at least not _during_ the first date, anyway."

Kara let out what could be considered a growl. "Stop it with your idiotic banter and talk before I crush you like a bug."

"Arachnid, actually." The hero's unwavering glare made her sigh and hold her hands up in surrender. I _did not think this through._ "I'm a hero of the streets. You think things just slip under my radar unnoticed? I've seen how vigilant Kara Danvers is in her reporting, but always with a special interest in aliens. Not to mention, anytime Supergirl is around, Kara isn't, and vice versa. Besides, I've seen a picture of her and I'm looking at you right now, and let me just say, as adorable as those glasses are, they don't do much to hide those brilliant blue eyes."

Kara glared at her before rolling off of her with a sigh. "My sister has told me that the glasses aren't a good disguise, but I like them." She grabbed the bags of food and used her heat vision to warm them up before helping herself to the abundance of food. "Look, I think I trust you, but I need to know what's stopping you from running off and spilling this to everyone."

"That's how people get hurt. The end of your alias means the end of safety for the people you love. You've already lost one world; how could I be so heartless as to rip another one away from you?"

Lena looked over to see Kara staring at her intensely, and if she didn't know the mask was lined with lead, she would've thought that she could see right through her. 

"You sound like you've experienced it before."

She chuckled bitterly. "I know a thing or two about losing people. In more ways than one."

"Hey." She felt a hand on her shoulder. "I know we don't really know each other, but I'll be here if you need me. Just give a yell. The ears are pretty powerful."

Lena let out a little laugh. "I'll keep that in mind, thanks."

Their eyes (well, in Lena's case mask-eyes) met for an amount of time that she wasn't sure could necessarily be considered "platonic."

"So, Lillian Luthor," Supergirl sidetracked once she realized what was happening. "Maggie says she asked you, but I was wondering if there was  _anything_ more that you could give us."

Lena sighed and shrugged at the loss of the serene moment. "I don't know. She tried to frame Lena Luthor today, didn't she? Maybe she's trying to get to her. Maybe you can use her as bait."

"No way. Lena is my best friend. I am not about to let her be used as bait to capture Lillian. She and her minions are ruthless. I'm not about to lose her."

Lena's heart pounded in her chest at the sentiment and she tried to keep it from showing as she spoke. "Look, I'm not saying to leave her in an open field with a giant sign that says 'Capture and torture me!'" she began. "What I'm saying is that you should just use the fact that they want to take her to your advantage. Arrange something to keep her protected if you're so worried about her. I don't know why by the way; she can take care of herself."

"And what makes you think you know Lena Luthor better than me?"

"Because you're incredibly biased. You obviously care about her, so you don't want to jeopardize her safety in the slightest. But a move like that could be exactly the kind of move that is needed."

Kara sighed and put her head in her hands. "She's one of the best things in my life. I don't want to lose her to that awful woman."

Lena moved closer to Kara and rubbed her back soothingly. "It's going to be okay. She is strong. She will be able to handle this. And if what she said on the stand of her mother's trial is true, it seems like she'd be more than willing to help."

Kara smiled and looked over. "Thanks, Spider-Woman." Her nose crinkled. "I don't like that. Is there anything else I can call you?"

Lena laughed. "Sawyer called me Spidey if that makes you feel better."

"Spidey... Spidey... I think I like it," she conceded with a smile. "I'm letting you know right now, though, that this is our first and final 'date.'"

She grasped her chest dramatically. "Oh! My heart! I can practically feel the strings snapping apart as it breaks in two! Oh, how will I ever move on!" She grinned as Kara let out a strong laugh. "Honestly, I just wanted this to be called a date so that I can brag that I got Supergirl to agree to do a date with me."

"And now you can tell them that Supergirl also left you at the restaurant."

Before she could question the statement, Supergirl had already tidied up the mess and started flying away. "I think I just heard a couple of guys break into a store. Care to join me?"

Lena shot to her feet and began sprinting from roof to roof (and throwing in a few flips and web tricks to show off, not that she would ever admit it) to keep up with the Girl of Steel. "Nice to partner up with you!" she called over.

"Back at ya!"

"And can I ask you something? About Lena Luthor?"

The Kryptonian glanced over at her. "Depends on the question."

"Does she give off as much of a tragic prince- well, princess I guess- vibe in person as she does in her interviews?"

Kara glared at her playfully and flew over to shove her. "Has anyone ever told you that you're a bit of an ass?" 

"What gave you that impression? Is it something I said?" 

Suddenly, she was shooting out a string of web to prevent from hitting the ground as Supergirl laughed above her. "Looks like those reflexes aren't all they're cut out to be." Her voice faded as she zoomed away. "Keep up, jackass!"

Lena grinned. "Whatever you say, Danvers."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congrats if you've made it this far! I don't really have as much to say this time around as I did during the last chapter sooo yeah! Leave suggestions for me in the comments! Oh, and if you want an idea of what Lena's suit looks like, look up Jessica Drew Earth-1610 (or just Jessica Drew Ultimate series, if you'd prefer). Hope you guys liked the chapter!
> 
> Tumblr: insertsexualitypun


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sure you can guess by now, but this has not been proofread. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter, so see ya at the end!

Lena struggled not to limp into the office the next morning after teaming up with Supergirl. It was an incredible experience, fighting alongside one of the most beloved heroes on the planet. However, it's hard to enjoy the moment when bullets are raining down on you. Sure, the suit and reflexes helped. But when there's a gang of people who are smart enough to shoot at the one that isn't bulletproof? That's when things get tricky. No matter how much her suit could absorb the impact and break apart the bullets, it still hurt like a bitch when there was one she couldn't dodge in time. 

Don't even get her started on the aliens playing dirty with their tech. Lena was tempted to stay home and spend her day in an ice bath to numb the aching that she felt as a result.

But, of course, she came in anyways. She was doing pretty well with moving slowly and making sure that she gave herself time to relax as she moved around her lab to make improvements to her suit. (She may or may not have "borrowed" some of the alien tech that was left after apprehending them so that she could use it to make counter-measures). Then Jess paged her and said that Kara was on her way down to see her. By the time Kara walked in through the door, she had to try and keep the look of absolute agony off of her face from how quickly she moved to hide the suit and notes. 

"What are you doing down in the dungeons of L-Corp?" Kara asked playfully as she opened her arms for a hug.

"Kara! Hey, what are you doing down here?" she greeted as she tried to hide the grimace from moving forward to welcome her friend with a hug.

Her friend frowned. "I'm, uh, actually here on more official business, unfortunately," she sighed apologetically. 

Lena groaned. "Snapper sent you here to get a quote from me, didn't he?"

Kara's eyes widened. "No! No, no, sorry, that's definitely what this is about." She took a deep breath. "I'm sure you realized that I knew that detective that nearly arrested you yesterday."

"Yeah, her name was Maggie Sawyer, right?"

"Yeah, so anyways, she and my sister are trying to work together to find your mom and Metallo. Supergirl works with my sister and she came to me this morning with a proposition for you."

Lena arched an eyebrow in faux intrigue. "A proposition?"

Kara hesitated. "Yeah... they want you to try to lure your mother out of hiding."

"Really?" Lena really hoped she was as good of an actor as the rest of her family; otherwise, all this fake surprise was going to give her away in a heartbeat. "That doesn't really seem Supergirl's style."

"Oh trust me, it's not," Kara said with annoyance just below the surface. "But she had a talk with Spider-Woman last night. She seems convinced that they wanted you framed so that they could get to you more easily, and that if you were used to draw them out--"

"My mother and Metallo could be apprehended," Lena finished. "Alright, so what's the plan? In what way am I going to be bait?"

The reporter looked up in shock. "Wait, really? That easily? You don't want to think it over first?"

Lena smiled. "Look, my mother is a horrendous, vile woman. Every second that she is out there is another second that she is a danger to this city," she ranted. "I want her back behind bars."

Her friend smiled at her warmly. "I always knew there was a reason I liked you."

"Oh, thanks, Kara. Nice to know that you just realized that."

They laughed and Kara pulled her in for another hug. "You know I don't mean it like that." She pulled back to look at Lena. "Thank you for agreeing to this. You don't have to."

"Just try to stop me. So, what exactly am I going to be doing?"

Kara laughed nervously. "Well, um, you see, that's where everything thinks that we're going to hit a bit of a snag with you..."

Lena arched an eyebrow with genuine intrigue this time. "What do you mean that you think you're going to hit a snag?"

The blonde looked down and began to fiddle with her fingers like they were the most interesting things in the world. "Well, ya see, we were planning on you making your rounds at the Luthor Family Children's Hospital-"

"Absolutely not," Lena interjected with finality. "I'm perfectly okay with letting myself be bait. What I am not okay with, however, are children being possible collateral damage to the matter!"

Kara flinched and held up her hands. "I know! I know, and I absolutely hate it, too. But everyone knows that you make a trip to see them at the beginning of the month," Kara began. "If you don't let Supergirl and my sister help, then you're putting them even more at risk by going in there alone. And I know that you would never cancel on them; you don't have the heart for it. Please, Lena? We have a plan to keep the kids in one general area so that when they come for you, they won't be in the crossfire."

Lena looked into those pleading blue eyes and she sighed in defeat.  _God, I'm a useless lesbian._ "Fine, fine. But I want Spider-Woman and Guardian there fighting, too," she conceded. "I want all the kids at the top floors so that when the fighting starts, they'll be out of harm's way altogether. Hopefully, anyways."

Kara nodded eagerly. "Done. But, why do you want Spider-Woman and Guardian there? Don't think Supergirl can handle it?"

The CEO chuckled at Kara's slight insecurity. "Look, it's nothing against Supergirl; she's saved my life plenty of times for me to trust her. But these are different stakes. I don't want something happening to her because of Metallo using Kryptonite against her, thus leaving the kids defenseless. If Spider-Woman and Guardian are there, they'll be able to hold down the fort at least."

"Don't worry, as soon as you go in, you'll be leaving. I'll make sure they leave you a car out back so that you can drive off and get out of there. Even if all three of them get defeated, your mom and her overkill bodyguard won't have any reason to stick around."

Lena smiled. "Thank you, Kara. As much as I despise the fact that children are a part of this plan, I appreciate how willing you are to negotiate all of this with Supergirl."

Kara's eyes widened in realization. "Oh, I'm sure she'll be fine with all of it," she assured nervously. "After all, if she's willing to ask so much of you, she's willing to allow some freedom about this. I assume, anyways."

Lena bit the smile back as it tried to fight its way onto her face. "I hope you assume correctly. Anyways, did you want to go out for lunch?"

"I-" She was cut off by her phone ringing, a disappointed sigh passing her lips as she saw who was calling. "Can't. Not anymore, anyways. Alex is calling and she usually doesn't call unless it's an emergency. I've gotta take this, but I'll try to get back to you. Talk to you later!"

"Bye!" she called to her friend who was already out the door. She groaned as her muscles practically gave out under her, causing her to sag against the table she had been working at prior to Kara's impromptu arrival.

She picked up her mask and considered it. "Sorry, buddy," she said. "You're going to have to wait to get some kind of facial movements for another time. The rest of the suit needs me more." A pause. "I'm talking to a mask."

* * *

 

A few days later, the trap was set for Lena's mother and minion. Lena would show up at the hospital, always the public spectacle considering everyone was just waiting until she went batshit crazy like Lex. She'd walk in and pretend that she was going to make her rounds, starting at the top and working her way down. (To Lena's delight, the hospital and government agency agreed to take the kids out for a day at a discovery center so there was absolutely no chance of casualties). In theory, Lillian would have already shown up and tried to take her. That's when Lena would make her "escape" while Guardian, Supergirl, and (eventually) Spider-Woman will come in and take the two of them down once and for all.

It was actually a really good plan.

Which is why Lena didn't understand why her hands were trembling as she neared the building. There was no chance of child casualties, no one would be able to know that she wasn't actually in a car, thus protecting her identity, and she was going to be able to finally put her mother behind bars. For good this time. So why was she terrified? She was a superhero for fuck's sake. 

She was so lost in thought, she didn't even realize that the car had stopped and that she had already begun making her way to the doors of the hospital. There was a doctor standing at the door waiting to greet her, but after one look, she realized that there was a distinct outline in her coat pocket. A gun. They had dressed up agents as doctors and nurses, too. 

Everything was a bit of a blur as she began her fake procession through to the elevators. Until she heard a crash and looked up to see Lillian's smug face staring back at her. Suddenly, everything was back in focus as she realized that she was being herded towards the back of the building and she heard the voices of Supergirl and Guardian talking to her mother. 

Working quickly, she opened the door and placed a device that she programmed to hack into the car's system and drive itself to her apartment. She pressed a button on her bracelet and watched as her Spidey suit was revealed as the cloaking technology she had used turned itself off. Stripping herself of her other clothes, she tossed them in the backseat and quickly retracted her mask from where she had built it in. After sending the car on its way, she turned back to the door and listened to the blasts and cries that were coming from the building. With a deep breath, she ran in.

After sprinting through the building, the fight had been left in pretty much the same place as it was when she was ushered out. At least, she thinks it was. There were a few gaping holes that made it a little hard to distinguish what used to be what in the building.

"Where the hell have you been?" Supergirl called as she battled a minion that Lena recognized from when her mother tried to launch Medusa while Guardian battled Corben. 

She ran over to help and proceeded to web his body to the wall until he was covered in four different layers of webbing. "Traffic was awful."

Before Kara could make a snarky remark, she cried out as she was shot forward by a blast of Kryptonite. Turning around, she realized Guardian was on the ground, pretty much down for the count at the moment. 

"Oh, look," Corben crooned mockingly. "The little bug thinks that she can beat us."

Lena snarled. "I can damn well try. And by the way, I'm an arachnid." Throwing her arm outward, she shot a string out at his chest and yanked it towards herself, letting her fist connect with his nose. "Shit, your face is hard!" she yelped as she dodged a punch from him, shaking her hand to try and dissipate the pain.

He kept swinging punches at her that she dodged easily as she attempted to web him up, only for him to rip his arm free with no effort. (She tried punching more, but that hurt her more than him so she just went with the more long-distance approach).

"Try and see how you'd prefer this then?" He shot a beam of Kryptonite at her and jerked in pain; she made a note that using the Kryptonite seemed to hurt him. Metallo stared as he realized that she'd barely even flinched, even if she was a few feet further back than she had been previously. "How the hell are you still standing?"

She smirked. "Well, this was the plan the whole time. For us to show up and beat you, so I made a few improvements to my suit," she explained nonchalantly as she dodged the punches he was swinging at her. "You'd be surprised at how relatively simple it is to make a suit resistant to Kryptonite and its concentrated effects like the death beam trick you do. Great party trick, by the way. I'm sure the girls love it. If they can make it past your whole... well, everything."

She was suddenly thrown to the side but a fierce swing to the side of her head. "Are you resistant to that?" she heard 'Cyborg Superman' say from where she pulled herself up from the ground.

"Admittedly, no," she said. "And I obviously can't really seem to hurt either of you much. So how about I just do this?" She shot strings at the both of them and quickly brought her arms together. Out of reflex, Metallo shot a Kryptonite beam and R2-D2 (she was _not_ about to call that jackass Superman in any way) shot an eye beam. That, combined with the force of the impact made the two of the crumple, if only for a few minutes.

"Good job," Supergirl commented from where she was starting to get up from where Metallo had knocked her. 

"No thanks to you," Lena teased, nudging them with her foot.

"Well, if you want something done right, do it yourself," she heard her mother mutter from where she appeared behind a wall as she began firing at Lena. "I must say, I'm impressed by how you managed to disorient them. Not like it matters. I _will_ get my daughter back."

"What makes you think she would ever give in to what you're doing?" Lena snarled as she made her way towards her mother, dodging bullets easily.

Lillian chuckled. "I don't. Do you think I would have my associates here with me if I did?" 

Lena glared at her mother behind the mask. "Then why would you still bother doing this?"

"She's my daughter, and even if she doesn't see it now, she will understand why I'm doing this. One day."

Lena let out a bitter chuckle. "I highly doubt that."

Lillian clicked her tongue. "You're right. But I doubt you're leaving this room alive."

Before she could question what she meant, she turned to see Supergirl laying crumbled on the ground in pain as her veins glowed green, and R2 punching her in the face. 

She was thrown into the wall so hard it cracked upon impact and she fell to the ground. She groaned as she slowly began pulling herself up from the ground. Suddenly, a hand was in her hair and yanking her up so that a fist could punch her. She cried out as her face began to crack from the force, her body aching from the blows that were being administered. 

Lena flinched as her mother's voice came right next to her ear. "I like you; you have spirit. I hope to see you again sometime, so stay down if you know what's good for you." She stood. "Until we meet again, Spider."

Her mother began walking away with her two bodyguards in pursuit. "Self-righteous bitch!" she screamed at her as she walked away. 

She collapsed to the ground in pain as agents began walking in and surveying the area. She vaguely heard Guardian groan and affirm that he was okay from where he had been knocked out on the ground.

"Are you alright?" a concerned voice above her that she knew to be Kara's asked. 

"I just got beat senselessly by R2-D2," she deadpanned. "I'm kinda liking my spot here on the floor right now, honestly."

Kara let out an airy laugh and rolled her over so that she was face up and joined her, holding her side as the burn from the Kryptonite beam slowly healed. "We'll get them. Let's just be grateful that the kids weren't here to see any of this. God, I'm going to have to tell Lena about the repairs."

"I wouldn't worry about it," she replied. "As long as everyone is alright, I'm sure she'll be okay with it."

"So, how do you feel about your first major superhero battle?" Kara asked as she leaned back against the wall. 

"My mask is horribly damaged, I'm pretty sure my face is bleeding, my body feels like it's about to shut down on me, and I still have to go to work tomorrow," she listed. "I think I feel wonderful, all things considered."

Kara laughed, and Lena was so glad that even amongst all the wreckage around them, she could still make her laugh and smile that brilliant smile of hers. "You're a pain in the ass, Spidey," she admitted. "But you're  _my_ pain in the ass. It's nice to know that you can still make humor out of getting your ass handed to you."

"Hey, I had them on the ropes!" she defended as she heard Kara laugh. "I did!"

After a flicker of hesitation passed over Kara's face, she leaned down and pressed a kiss to Lena's forehead. "Whatever you say, Spidey," she said as she pulled herself up. "You did great today. We'll call you when we have an idea on when the next fight is going to be. Until then, take the night off."

Of course, Lena could barely hear what she was saying over her heartbeat pounding in her ears that  _Kara Danvers_ AKA  _Supergirl_ just gave her a kiss. 

"I know you're into me, Supergirl!" she called from her spot on the floor as the Super walked away with a light laugh. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not really sure how I feel about this chapter, honestly. It's late (as per usual) and I had a couple different directions I was considering going; this is just the one I ended up on. Let me know what you think and if you liked it. Next chapter, I'll probably try to expand the characters a bit more (and let Guardian actually help out more in the fight next time). Hope you guys enjoyed!
> 
> Tumblr: insertsexualitypun


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took a bit longer to update because I wasn't entirely sure where I wanted to take it. I don't really know how I like it, so please tell me what you thought down below (and it makes me feel validated to have a lot of positive comments so :3). As per usual, this was not proofread.

"Ms. Luthor, are you sure there's nothing I can do for you?" Jess fretted as she observed the cuts and bruises on Lena's face. "After a mugging, I wouldn't think you'd want to be in at work. I can cancel your evenings so that you can leave early if you want. Did you report the incident to the police?"

Lena chuckled and held up her hand before walking around to sit at her desk. "Jess, I'm perfectly fine, though, it would be nice to be able to cancel. And I didn't need to report the incident; Spider-Woman apprehended him before she ran in to help Supergirl and Guardian."

Jess shuddered. "I'm glad that she's doing good for the city, but I hate spiders. Anyways, I'll leave you to your work while I cancel your meetings for tonight."

"Thank you, Jess," Lena said distractedly as she shifted her focus to the paperwork on her desk, a majority of it from the destruction of the children's hospital from yesterday.

A glance at her reflection from the TV made her hiss as she felt shots of pain upon reminiscing on how her wounds came to be. Turns out, she had accelerated healing factor; there was an astronomical difference between yesterday and today, though her face still wasn't looking great. She figured it would only take a few days for her face to heal completely.

Looking back down at the stack of work she had, she groaned and half-considered calling Jess back in just so that she could pass the work off onto someone else. With a sigh, she took a file and began making her way through it, one page at a time. She wasn't sure quite how long she had been mindlessly filling out paperwork before she heard the door open again and in walked Kara Danvers. 

"Hey, Lena," Kara said as she looked down at her phone. "I was wondering if- holy crap, what happened?" she cried once she looked up and rushed over worriedly to inspect Lena's face. "Does it have something to do with your mother? Are you okay? Why are you at work? You should be home resting, Lena Luthor!"

Lena held up her hands in mock surrender. "When I was getting out yesterday, a guy in the alley tried to mug me. Spider-Woman stopped him for me while I drove away. He got a few good swings in, but I'm fine. And I'm at work because I'm the CEO of a multi-million dollar company. I'm not going to take an entire day off of work just because of a few bruises."

"Lena, this is more than just a few bruises. Have you gotten these checked out?" Kara worried.

"Kara, I'm a big girl. You don't have to worry so much about me," Lena sighed. "Speaking of which, do you know how Supergirl, Guardian, and Spider-Woman are doing? I heard they got quite the beating yesterday trying to stop my mother and her minions."

The blonde hesitated. "Supergirl says that they're fine," she began. "Guardian got a direct Kryptonite blast from Metallo, so he was down for a bit, but she says that he's fine. Spider-Woman apparently is quite the fighter. She pulls her punches, though."

The brunette frowned. "Pulls her punches? What do you mean?"

"Well, it doesn't seem like she means to, but I guess since she's so used to using minimal strength on baddies, she hasn't really had to unlock her full strength. She doesn't use all that she can against them. At least, that's what Supergirl said."

Lena nodded like it wasn't painfully obvious that Kara revealed way too much to not consider her to be Supergirl. "So, are you going to keep her out of missions then? Let her stick to street crime?" she asked, trying to keep the insecurity out of her voice.

"Of course not," she scoffed, hopefully masking Lena's sigh of relief. "Supergirl says she's a good fighter if a bit a unpolished. She just needs to learn when her max strength is appropriate."

Lena hummed in consideration as pushed the last remaining paperwork out of the way. "I think I'm going to head out early after all. Did you want to go out for lunch?"

The Kryptonian shook her head. "I'll walk you to your apartment. We can order something from that Chinese restaurant I was going to take you to the other day. Sound good?"

"Like a dream," she replied with a goofy grin, grabbing her jacket. They had gotten all the way outside before Kara's phone began vibrating and she sighed, explaining that it was Alex.

"I'll make it up to you, I promise, but I've gotta go," Kara apologized. "Bye, Lena!"

Lena waved a sad goodbye even though she had already run off. It wasn't for another few minutes that she realized that the burner phone that Supergirl gave to her was vibrating, too.

_We need your assistance if you're willing to work with us again. If so, come to the address we are about to send to you._

Lena looked around her before ducking into an alleyway and began to change.

* * *

 "You requested my presence?" Lena asked as she stood on the concrete barrier on the balcony of the building she had been summoned to. A few agents turned to aim guns at her before she arched an eyebrow. "Well, that's a rude way to treat a guest."

"Stand down!" a man hollered. He walked up to the balcony. "Do you mind stepping off of that, please?"

Lena chuckled before stepping down. She studied him before she came to a realization. "Wait a minute, you're R2-D2! Or, the guy R2 was based on?"

The corner of his mouth raised in a slight smile. "His name is Hank Henshaw. He was the original director of the organization: the D.E.O. I am a shape-shifting alien that he was hunting when he went over the side of a cliff; I took over his job after he was believed to be dead. I keep this face to make those around me more comfortable. You can call me by his name or my own: J'onn J'onzz."

Lena hummed in understanding before strolling through the building and seeing who else was there. "Agent Danvers, how amazing to meet you. Kara has told me virtually nothing about you."

She was immediately pinned to a wall. "How the hell do you know who she is?" Alex demanded.

"You Danvers sisters seem to have a thing about pinning me the second I say Kara's name, don't you? Are you sure it's not just because you both kinda have a thing for me? I'm convinced Super has a thing for me, actually. At this point, I'm just trying to gather my evidence." The pressure increased. "Hey, in all fairness, she knows I know. Besides, you're the one who says the glasses aren't a good disguise."

"Let her go, Alex, it's alright. If she wanted to leak the information, she could've done it by now," she heard Kara's voice placate from somewhere out of her line of her sight. "Let the spider go. She's an asshole, not a backstabber."

Alex's glare softened slightly before the pressure was let go and she was free from the wall. "Thank you for your graciousness," she replied sarcastically before walking over to where the director was watching amusedly by the guy that had helped her save her fundraiser from the robbers that her mother supplied with alien tech.

"If you are done chit-chatting, I would like to introduce you to Winn Schott, he is one of our finest technicians here at the D.E.O. Mr. Schott, this is-"

"Spider-Woman," Winn interjected with a sort of trance-like quality. "I have become such a huge fan of your work already. And your suit is just incredible! I'm almost jealous. I made Supergirl's and Guardian's suits, actually. I-"

"That's enough, Winn," Supergirl cut off with a slight smile. "If you keep talking, you're going to end up needing to mop the floor from all your drool."

He pouted. "Not cool."

Lena chuckled. "As entertaining as this all is, what am I doing here exactly?"

J'onn motioned her over to Winn's computer. "Mr. Schott analyzed some of the footage from your fight from yesterday. You barely did any damage physically to either Metallo or Henshaw. Yet, if you were of only average human strength, you would not have been able to make that concrete wall crumble beneath you when Henshaw threw you into it. We believe that you are too used to containing your strength; we would like for you to allow us to help you in tapping the potential you have to defeat these two."

She considered. "Who would I train with?"

"First, we would need to see how strong you are, then we'll get you into a ring with someone," Alex said from behind her, seemingly alright (now) with the fact that she knew Kara's true identity. "We're going to make sure that next time you face Lillian Luthor and her goons, you're ready to take them out."

"So what are we standing around here for? Let's begin!"

* * *

 

Lena dabbed sweat from her face as she panted from the exertion this testing was causing for her. They had used some experimental chamber that had a roof that was controlled electronically to add more and more pressure in order to judge the amount of weight she could carry. (She tried not to seem too proud when she walked out and they told her that her max seemed to be ten tons). Afterward, they judged her reflexes and speed by putting her in a long corridor to see how fast she could cross and how many of the traps she could avoid. 

"Well, Spider-Woman, you seem to be doing quite well. Your reflexes leave something to be desired though," J'onn said, ignoring Lena's indignant protest. "Now, we would like to bring in your trainer."

The door behind them opened and out walked a blonde woman in a white leather suit. "My name is Sara Lance, also known as the White Canary. I'm a reformed assassin and I have bloodlust stemming from the fact that I was resurrected by my sister. And I travel through time to make sure history doesn't get ruined. Barry Allen gave me some... _thing_ that would help me cross dimensions and so I used it to get me and my ship here. Just to get all of that out of the way. And who might you be, Webhead?"

Lena's jaw would've visibly dropped had it not been for the mask. "I might be very into blondes in white suits at the moment," she replied after snapping out of it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kara frown, but she didn't focus on it for too long.

Sara smirked and chuckled. "I think I'm gonna like you, Webhead. Now, come on, show me what you've got."

She charged Sara and... well, let's just spare the details of the first few hours for now. Let's just say Lena ended up on her back a lot (and  _not_ in the way she would hope when faced when a hot blonde). 

Everyone had cleared out by the time Lena actually started landing punches two hours later. After that small victory, energy surged through her and within the hour, she had gotten Sara pinned to the mat (again, not necessarily in the way she would've hoped, though).

"Not bad, Webhead," Sara conceded as they took a break, taking a sip of her water. "You starting to test your limits. And your reflexes are improving, too."

"Thanks," Lena panted tiredly from where she had sprawled herself on the floor. "I'm just so used to being told not to follow my instincts that... I don't know. I guess I just wasn't trusting myself enough."

Sara smiled at her and nudged her lightly with her foot. "Alright, time to get up. Pin me three more times and you're free to go. You're still leaving yourself wide open for an attack when you swing. You like to defend and let your opponent get impatient or wear themselves out, which is good. But you still need to be ready to do some actual damage when it's called for. Now, come on. Again."

It was just under two hours before the two finally called it quits. Lena had let herself become more in tune with her reflexes and speed, and she was able to do a lot more damage with her punches than she had been when they started. But most importantly, she had gotten Sara's number. 

The D.E.O. was much more empty by the time Lena and Sara made their way up to the main floor. Only a few stray agents still wandered around, along with the director, the Danvers sisters, and Winn.

"As much as I would love to stick around, I gotta run, Webhead. I promised I would take the rest of my team back home to have some time to hang out with family before we set off on our next mission," Sara explained, hugging the superhero even though they were both covered in sweat. "Make sure to add that device I gave you to your phone so that we can keep in touch across dimensions. If you ever need me, I'm only a few Earths away. Bye, Spider."

Lena waved at the blonde as strolled away to get to the Waverider. 

"I was about to send a team down there to see if you two were still alive. How long does it take to train?" Kara muttered, annoyance seeping into her voice.

Lena's eyes narrowed. "Sorry, but I needed the help."

"Sure you did."

"Did I do something to upset you?"

Kara scoffed and stood from where she was leaning on the center table. "Absolutely nothing. I just heard a woman scream a few blocks over. I'll go check it out," she snapped, already walking towards the balcony.

"Let me come with-"

"No."

Before she could get out another syllable, Kara had already flown off. There was an awkward silence, no one really knowing what to say after Kara's abrupt exit.

Winn let out a cough. "Well, I'm just gonna go meet Guardian and see if he's up for a little bit of his own patrol, so I'll just head out. By the way, Spider-Woman, if you ever need advancements on your suit-"

"I can handle my own suit, thanks, Winn," she said distractedly.

Winn moved forward to pat his hand on her shoulder before he decided against it and brought it back awkwardly. "Okay, yeah, I'm just gonna leave now. Let me know if you need anything, guys."

Lena sighed and stared out at the balcony. "What was up with her? Did I do something?"

"She was just... annoyed," Alex said hesitantly from behind her. "I wouldn't push it. She gets very touchy when she's in a mood."

"Yeah, well, people always say I've had a death wish," Lena called from where she was already halfway to the balcony. "As long as she doesn't burn me on sight, I should be fine. Wish me luck!" 

She found Supergirl on the rooftop of the building they usually met at. "I want to be alone," Kara snapped, not bothering to turn around. 

"In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not good with directions," Lena said gently, sitting next to her so that there was still some space between them.

Kara scoffed. "Really? Because it sure looked like you were taking them  _great_ when Sara was still here," she muttered bitterly, too softly for Lena to make out what she said.

The Spider scrambled for something to say. "Look, I'm sorry if I said or did something, but-"

"Do you like Sara?" Kara interjected. 

Lena arched an eyebrow. "That's what this is all about? Look, Kara, Sara is gorgeous, I'm not going to lie. But," she continued when she saw Kara's face fall, "I'm not actually interested in her. Sure, she's a badass, but she and I would only ever be good as friends."

The Kryptonian groaned and let her face fall into her hands. "Rao, I'm an idiot. I'm sorry, I just... have some severe abandonment issues. And in that moment when it seemed like you were so interested and intrigued with Sara, my mind went to the idea that you would no longer have any kind of interest- platonic or otherwise- with me, especially after how long the two of you were down there. And it scared me. I've been left alone and secluded so many times in my life, and I'm finally starting to reach a point where it doesn't happen anymore. But even just the smallest thing like losing a friend like you already... it hurt."

Lena scooted closer to her and put a hand on her back. "Hey, you're not getting rid of this asshole just by putting some blonde in front of me," she replied. "You are incredible, and I'm not leaving you just yet. You mean too much to me already. But if I didn't know any better, I would almost say you were jealous." 

Kara smiled crookedly and shoved her lightly ( _Thank God she didn't kill me for saying that_ , Lena thought, relieved when that she didn't push too far). "Shut it, Spidey." She looked up at the mask and leaned forward slightly so that their foreheads were touching. Slowly raising her hand to her mask, she pushed it up until to plant a light kiss on Lena's cheek. "But maybe you're not entirely wrong. We'll see."

Without another word, she lightly floated upwards, leaving a stunned Lena to pull down at her mask in a daze. "Oh, uh, yeah, totally. I didn't just mean that in a joking way at all."

Biting her lip, she smiled and shook her head, flying farther away. "You're different to me, Spidey. I'm just not sure in what way. I'll let you know when we have something on Lillian Luthor, but I'll see you here tomorrow." And with that, she was gone.

Lena stood up and backed up, running towards the edge of the rooftop as her mind caught up with what just happened. A grin split across her face as it finally hit her that there was a  _possibility_ that Supergirl liked her, her legs jumping from building to building for her. And right as she realized that _Supergirl kissed her cheek,_ she heard a cry for help. She let out a whoop of triumph and flipped forwards into the alley; adrenaline and joy filling her system as she easily defeated the mugger to the tune of Kara's last few sentences playing over and over in her head like the most beautiful broken record.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Like I said, I don't know how to feel about it so let me know what you thought (honestly, if you guys don't respond well to it, I'll probably try to rewrite it, but I don't know how long that would take for me to get out). This was more of an establishing section. Next time, there will be more of Lena fighting and testing out her new skills, I promise. And maybe some more Supercorp, I dunno, I mean why would I ever want to add more of them? >:3 (jk obvs). Until next time!
> 
> Tumblr: insertsexualitypun


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this all does unfold a bit differently than it did in the show, mostly just for my convenience. And I was too lazy to follow everything to a tee so I just took basic guidelines and rolled with it. I wasn't sure how I wanted this all to play out, so I hope you guys like what I strung together. Like always, no proofreading involved, so yeah. Lemme know what ya think!

Lena rubbed her forehead tiredly and sighed. The day had been pretty slow. Nothing had come over her police scanner (well, at least nothing that had come over before it was called off because Guardian or Supergirl had gotten there first, anyway), so she had no excuse to abandon all the budget balancing and meetings from earlier in the day. At this point, she was just ready to head to the D.E.O and help Winn find her mother.

"Hello, daughter."

Lena stood straight up in her chair and scanned her office for her mother. "Where are you? What the hell do you want from me?"

"I'm somewhere safe from the prying eyes of your beloved little alien," her mother's voice replied smugly. "And as for what I want from you, well, it's quite simple: I need you."

"What the hell do you need me for?"

"I have some big ideas in the works for National City's 'immigrants,' but I don't want to do this alone."

Lena chuckled bitterly. "Last time I checked you have two loving little minions that will gladly stand beside you while you watch the city's alien's burn."

"Yes, well, as true as that may be, they are not my daughter. You are."

"You've got a terrible way of showing that you care, mother. Even though I'm fairly certain that caring about me is not the reason that you are doing this."

"I do care about you, Lena. I care enough about you that I will finally tell you the truth about who you are. About your father."

Lena's brow furrowed. "What the hell are you talking about?" she snarled. "Lionel was a good man; a good father. Better a parent than you could ever be."

Lillian scoffed. "If he's such a good parent, then why didn't he tell you that you were his daughter?"

Lena froze. 

"Lionel had an affair with your mother. I found out when I went to surprise him on a business trip and saw the two of them together... After that, we paid your mother to disappear and keep quite and that was that. Until your mother died and left you behind. Lionel and I didn't see eye-to-eye on the matter, which is how you ended up in our care."

She paused and took a breath. "I know it seems like I've never cared about you, Lena. It's not because I don't love you. It's because whenever I saw you, I saw her. I never hated you, Lena, it was just difficult for me."

Lena scoffed. "Yeah, well how difficult do you think it was for me?"

"I'm talking to you for the chance to make peace. I will give you a few days to decide if you would like to come willingly with me."

"And if I decide I don't want to aid you in whatever hidden scheme you're planning?"

"Let's hope your little alien pet, your defender is on her best guard that day. Until next time, Lena."

"Stay away from Supergirl," Lena growled through gritted teeth.

Her mother chuckled. "It's your choice. You can come willingly, or we could give you some incentive. Until then."

Lena was plunged back into silence and she felt rage running through her veins as her hands tightened their grip on her desk until she felt chunks rip off into her fists. 

Shaking them off, she quickly dismissed Jess from work and got into her suit, stepping up onto the balcony. 

"Just try to get to Supergirl," she muttered as she leaped from the balcony and began swinging over to the D.E.O building.

* * *

The breath was knocked out of Lena's lungs as she landed on the mat hard, the Danvers sisters standing over her, both with smug smiles.

"How're ya feeling, Spidey?" Kara said with a playful smile as she extended a hand. 

"I feel like I just got my ass handed to me for the twelfth time already this hour and the twenty-first time since we've started," Lena snapped in annoyance. "How is this helping me? All I'm doing is getting beat up over and over again, and last time I checked, that's exactly what I'm  _not_ supposed to be doing."

Alex rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "You're doing fine. Relax. It'll take time-"

"Which is something we don't have," she interjected. "I'm not feeling myself getting any better, and the last thing I want to be is the reason that Lillian Luthor causes mayhem in the city. If anything, I'm just getting put down faster."

Alex and Kara exchanged a look. "I'm going to go upstairs and see if Winn has made any progress locating Metallo through his Kryptonite signature," Alex said slowly as she eyed Lena curiously. "I'll be back in a few."

Spidey sighed frustratedly and ran her hands through her hair. "Hey, what's up with you? I've never seen you like this, so cynical. The Webhead I know would've gotten back up and not taken any kind of defeat."

"Look, being scrappy isn't going to win this battle," Lena sighed, sitting down. "I have yet to lay more than ten punches on the two of you combined. What makes you think I'm going to be able to take on two cyborgs?" She paused. "Lillian Luthor got away because I wasn't strong enough. She has hurt a lot of people, and she will hurt a lot more. And the idea of that woman running around when I had the chance to stop her... I'm just scared that I'm not going to be enough to stop her."

Kara frowned and took a seat next to Lena. "Look, I can't say that everything is going to work out perfectly because I know that it might not. But I do know that we are going to solve at least some of this because that is what we do. I also know that that is not the only thing that has been bothering you. What you just told me would stress you out, it wouldn't have pushed you to this breaking point."

Spidey sighed. "Lena Luthor got in contact with me earlier tonight," she began hesitantly.

"Wait, what? Did something happen, is she okay?" Kara rushed out, grabbing her arm and turning her.

"Ow, watch the strength, pal. Look, she's fine. I was helping out around the area when she called to me. I met her on the balcony and she told me that her mother had just contacted her. She said that her mother made her the offer to either go with her or... she was going to do something to you to give her incentive to go."

Supergirl averted her eyes. "Why didn't she tell me?"

"You or Kara?" Lena said with a grunt as she hauled herself up, her muscles aching in protest. "Because you are two different people to her, remember? Kara is her friend who would go into a panic mode at this. And Supergirl is the hero whose life her mother just threatened. You really think you would be the first one to tell about your possible imminent death?"

"Fair," she conceded. "Doesn't mean that I like it, though. Still doesn't really explain why you're so grumpy, though."

Lena sighed. "I don't want anything to happen to you, Supes," she admitted, not meeting the hero's eyes. "If I can stop those maniacs from hurting you, then I'm doing it at whatever cost. And in order to do that, I need to be able to fight well."

Kara smiled and Lena could've sworn she saw a slight blush. "I didn't realize you cared so much, Webhead."

She scoffed playfully, but before she could reply, Alex came back into the room with a look of distress. "You guys might wanna come see this."

The two exchanged a look before heading up the stairs into the main area where Winn was awaiting them, beloved tablet in hand. "Metallo is going to blow up," he offered, his tone distressed even as he tried to cover it up as he turned to face the two heroes. When they gave him a blank look, he continued. "I found his Kryptonite signature, but something was still bothering me about it, about how Spider-Woman said it looked like it hurt him when he used it."

"Yeah, it was like it backfired every time he used the Kryptonite," Lena mused. "How is that important, though?"

"Well, Superman took all the Kryptonite, so how did they get a hold of any? Unless-"

"Unless they made Kryptonite of their own," Lena interjected as realization washed over her. "Like Maxwell Lord did with the Red Kryptonite that altered Supergirl's brain chemistry. They made a synthetic Kryptonite of their own, but since it's not pure, it's hurting him."

"Not just that, it's killing him. The more he uses it, the faster it's going to break down."

Kara leaned forward. "Do you know where they are?"

Winn sighed and rubbed his face. "Not yet, I haven't gotten anything so far," he groaned. "I don't know if it's because he hasn't used it, or if the signal is slightly off because it's not pure, but I haven't gotten anything yet. For now, just head home. I'll contact you guys if anything comes up."

* * *

After another hour of fruitless searching, Lena called it a night and went back to the office to see if she could find anything that would clue her in to as to how her mother was able to contact her in her office. She was perusing the cabinet from the tampered video that showed her having Kryptonite when she heard it. Footsteps, slow and soft, but discernible.

"If you're trying to be stealthy, you might want to try a bit harder," she said, turning and throwing her fist out only for it to be caught in Metallo's fist.

"Sorry, Ms. Luthor, but your mother was getting rather impatient," he replied with a sick smile. "You'll be coming with me."

"And if I refuse?" Lena challenged.

"Then this could become a very unpleasant situation, and I'd rather not have to deliver your mother any sort of bad news."

Her glare remained. "I'm not afraid of you."

"Are you afraid of what I'll do to your little guardian angel? If you are, then you'll be happy to come along for the trip."

And that's how Lena ended up in a van with her mother and her two cyborg freaks on a road trip that she definitely never thought that she would be taking.

"How have you been?" her mother implored, breaking the silence.

"Like you care," she muttered bitterly in reply.

"Don't behave like this, Lena," Lillian scolded. "I care about you."

"Oh, so that's why you chose to rip me away from my life," she barked. "It all makes sense now. Thank you so much for taking me away!"

"You're being childish. We may not see eye-to-eye now, but one day, you will come to your senses and realize the threat that these creatures impose."

She scoffed and turned away. "In your dreams, mother."

It wasn't long until the van slowed to a stop and she was ushered out.

"How did I know that you would take shelter in one of his vaults?" Lena said languidly as she was guided into the building. "You're becoming predictable, mother." She looked around and noticed something in the center of the room. 

"This is not the vault; it's merely the entrance," her mother replied, gesturing to the object. "And that is the key to getting in."

"That's a biometric lock," she observed.

"Correct. Only someone with Luthor DNA can unlock it."

Her eyes scanned the room quickly. "Please don't tell me you have a bit of Lex frozen away somewhere."

Her mother looked as if she was talking to a child. "I didn't say Lex's DNA. I said Luthor. And Luthor can open it, and you are part of that family tree, whether you like it or not."

Lena chuckled with rolled eyes. "So that's why you needed me. Not because you cared; because you needed my genetics. I'm not letting you use me to access these weapons. And for future reference, I decidedly do not like the family tree you claim I am a part of."

"One does not negate the other, Lena. And I do not merely claim for you to be a Luthor, I know it," her mother replied as her patience ran short. "Now open the vault before one of these two gentlemen become impatient."

"I think it's time you learned how to play nice," Henshaw's gruff voice came from behind her as he grabbed her and forced her over to the pad. She felt his hand on her arm attempt to force her to move. But it wouldn't budge, at least not easily. There was a huff from the cyborg trying to move her as her mother eyed her curiously. With gritted teeth, she slowly stopped exerting so much strength until finally, her arm was on the pad.

In front of them, the floor opened up and out rose the vault.

"See? Now that wasn't so hard was it?" Lillian articulated.

They walked into the vault and looked in awe (only them) and disgust (only Lena) at all the weapons Lex had accumulated for his arsenal in his war against Superman. Lena noted a box that her mother seemed to be in absolute awe of when they heard a crash, turning to see none other than Supergirl.

"Supergirl! I can't believe you're here!" Lena exclaimed, rushing over. 

"Supergirl, you're just in time," her mother snarked. "I'd been wondering if these worked." She tossed what looked like a grenade at the Super, which she caught easily until it began emitting a sound frequency that only she could register, rendering her stunned from the pain. "Well, that was easier than I thought. Shall we try more of these toys?"

"Don't hurt her," Lena cried as she lunged forward, only to be stopped by Henshaw.

"She has to pay for what her cousin did to your brother."

Suddenly Lena was tossed aside, and she only barely managed to regain her balance.

"Lena, run," Supergirl called through her pain. "Get out of here, now."

She nodded and ran towards the entrance as she heard the squabble behind her. Once she was outside, though, she quickly changed and climbed onto the roof of the building, dropping through the hole Supergirl made. 

"Sorry, I'm late. I didn't know where the party was at," she said leisurely as she looked at the looks of shock staring back at her. "What? Not happy to see me?" She quickly stomped on the device that was hurting Kara and saw a wave of relief wash over her.

Metallo shot a beam at Kara, and she and Henshaw jumped away, narrowly avoiding it. "Spidey, the more he uses the Kryptonite, the faster it's decaying. It's going to blow soon."

"The only one about to die is you," he grunted as he flinched from the Kryptonite, blasting at her again, sending her flying into some boxes.

Lena was about to run over until she looked over her shoulder and saw her mother and R2 fleeing. "Hold on a second," she called, shooting Henshaw's feet. "You're not going anywhere just yet."

He growled and shooed Lillian out the door. "You just don't know when to stay down, do you, little bug?"

Lena sighed in frustration and crossed her arms. "What is it with people and calling me a bug? It's starting to get insulting really. I'm an arachnid. There's a difference."

He freed his legs and ran over, swinging punches at Lena almost as fast as she could dodge them. Almost. "Y'know, I heard that you were a bit of a crazy bastard even before Lillian made you all robotic and stuff," she began leisurely as she dodged and landed blows of her own. "I heard that you tried to kill J'onn."

She could read the frustration clearly written all over his face as she out-maneuvered all of his attacks easily while striking up a conversation.

"So, do you not have any problems with getting turned into a less awesome R2-D2? I kinda thought a guy like you would have problems going from the director of a government organization that failed under your guidance - especially when it comes to killing a certain Green Martin - and now you're a glorified butler."

Henshaw finally landed a hit on her jaw and she stumbled back from the force. "I still need to finish that job up," he grunted, taking advantage of her momentary disorientation to land more blows. "And with you out of the picture, it will only be that much easier to kill that bastard that stole my life."

She was able to dodge some of his punches, but the more she got hit, the harder it was to see straight, until she was on the ground, trying her best to catch the fists flying at her. Everything started to get dark and blurry. Her senses told her when to dodge, but she could barely move her arms, much less quickly enough to actually stop his attack or retaliate. Lena vaguely heard a voice through the pain. 

"It's over, Henshaw." Kara. Tired and weak, but it was definitely Kara's voice. "I just neutralized the threat of Metallo's Kryptonite."

He scoffed and stood from where he had been hunched over Lena, pummeling her to no end. "It's either catch me or help her, Supergirl," he gloated. "And I don't think that's much of a choice for either of us." He ran, leaving a satchel in his wake.

Using her x-ray vision to look into the bag, she gasped and quickly scooped Lena up in her arms and flew from the mountain just as the Kryptonite bomb exploded behind her, Metallo's own Kryptonite explosion from where she had tossed him outside the mountain following quickly behind. 

"Well, at least they're smart enough to have a backup plan. Even if it did involve killing us," Lena remarked with a laugh before she clutched her side in pain and cried out before falling limp and silent in Kara's arms.

"Spidey?" Kara questioned to no response. "Spidey!"

She began her flight to the D.E.O (albeit a bit slower so as not to cause any additional harm to the fellow hero) and looked down at the blood she saw dripping over her face and let her hand wander up to the face mask. Slowly, she pulled the mask down until the face was revealed and she gasped in horror and confusion. The face she saw was brutalized and caked in blood from cuts and bruises from Henshaw's unrelenting fists. But even under all the blood and cuts and bruises marring the face, she knew whose it was. 

One that she knew all too well.

"Lena?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kara knows the secret! I wonder what she will say next >:3 Honestly, I didn't want to drag out the reveal because I thought that could raise some bad implications for the characters that I didn't want them in. Next chapter, we will see what Kara has to say about all this. Until then, I hope to hear from you guys in the comments!


End file.
